German government party wants less generosity for Ukrainians

High payments contribute to low employment and put financial pressure on municipalities, politicians have warned

Calls are increasing to tighten social payments to Ukrainian refugees in Germany, as the heads of 16 federal states prepare to meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday to discuss the economic impact of immigration policies.

Ahead of the conference, the Augsburger-Allgemeine newspaper published an editorial featuring an interview with Stephan Thomae, a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), which is part of the ruling coalition.

“The FDP is open to the suggestion that newly arriving refugees from Ukraine will in future receive benefits through the right to asylum and not immediately citizen’s money,” the lawmaker said.

Ukrainians fleeing the conflict with Russia currently receive so-called citizen’s benefits in Germany, which are higher than the support received by other asylum seekers and refugees. Adults are entitled to more than €500 ($545) a month, and children between €357 and €471.

“It is now clear that the low employment rate of Ukrainian refugees in Germany compared to other host countries could not only have to do with language barriers and childcare issues, but also with the small wage gap between citizen’s benefit and housing costs covered and low employment income,” Thomae added.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, as of mid-February, Germany hosts the largest number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe (1.13 million), followed by Poland, the Czech Republic, and the UK.

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In Poland and the Czech Republic, roughly two-thirds of Ukrainian refugees are employed, while in the UK half are in work – compared to just 20% in Germany, Deutsche Welle reported.

The idea of scrapping citizen’s payments to Ukrainians was voiced last week by Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soder, who also suggested that full social benefits should only be paid after five years at the earliest, according to Bild.

Michael Kretschmer, the prime minister of Saxony, said in February that only 20% of Ukrainian refugees are employed “because they don't have to work.” 

Matthias Jendricke, from the center-left Social Democrats, told Der Spiegel that Germany has made things “too nice” for Ukrainians.

The idea of immediately integrating Ukrainians into the citizen’s benefit system came from local governments, rather than the federal level, the Augsburger-Allgemeine reported.

Municipalities are now calling for relief from the federal and state governments, arguing they are “at their limits when it comes to accommodation, care and integration,” the newspaper reported, citing a city association representative.

A tightening of asylum laws in Germany and a simplified process for asylum seekers to gain jobs are set to be discussed at the conference on Wednesday.